Melika's Story
by RuGByXMaNGaGiRL
Summary: Melika and Marik are happy now. Yami is the new Pharaoh and all is well with the world. That is until a witch tries to take all the men away! Can Melika and the other women of the palce save the men before it's too late?


It was late that night. She was hiding in a corridor in the castle. It was dark and gray in there and the smell of wet walls filled her nose.  
Melika tucked her short blonde hair behind her ear. She could hardly see her midnight blue dress against the dim walls. She quietly padded against the stone floors. She had to find him before it was too late.  
Where can you be, thought Melika to herself. She knew these corridors like the back of her hand. She had lived here almost her entire life. She turned a corner into a secret passage way. She looked down at her necklace. Maybe it could help her find him?  
She heard footsteps. Quickly, she traveled through dimensions and the light from her Millennium Pendant glistened off of her gold headband and belt and the dark sapphires on the ends.  
The guards saw the light and began to run to it but when they got there, they saw nothing.  
  
Melika's hair blew in her face as she traveled to the Shadow Realm. She landed in the darkness. Now, she thought, where can you be? Using her Millennium Item, she looked for his soul in the realm. Found it! She rejoiced. She ran through the Shadow Realm until she felt his presence.  
"Marik!!!" Melika called. "Where are you?"  
There was his soul, right in front of her. All she had to do was take it and bring it back to the realm they lived in. but she was interrupted by the spirits of the realm. Quickly, she grabbed his arm and transported them back to their realm.  
  
She landed on the stone floor with a soft thud. Marik's soul was fading. "Here," she said to his soul, "you'll be better off in my pendant." She transferred him into her pendant. "Now to find your body Marik," Melika said and she was off. Her sandals padded against the floors as she ran faster and faster. She couldn't hear anything but her heart racing and her breath heaving.  
She came to the last corridor. She gasped for breath because she was running so fast. Catching her breath, she walked in. It was a tomb. It had belonged to the pharaoh before Yami. She opened the tomb. There was a glass layer and beneath that was Marik. His body was frozen. Melika placed her hands on the glass. Clenching her fists against the glass until her knuckles were white, she held back tears. "I'll give him back his soul," she whispered to herself. Melika stepped back and touched her pendant making it give a soft glow. Out came Marik's soul from her Millennium Item. "Go to your master," she said to the soul. Marik's soul obeyed and went through the glass and into Marik. Marik opened his eyes. Melika looked through the glass. "Hold on," she said to him. "I'll get you out." Taking out the Dark Magician Girl, her favorite card, she held it out in front of her. She came out of the card. "Dark Magician Girl," said Melika, "break the glass with your Dark Magic Attack!" The DMG obeyed and freed Marik from the tomb. She bent down and reached for Marik to help him out. When he got out, they hugged each other tightly. "How'd you find me?" he said kissing her lightly. "I found your soul and it wanted to find you," she said. "But that's not important. Who did this to you?"  
"Who do you think?" said an annoying voice. Out of the shadows stepped Tea.  
Melika looked up in frustration. "Tea you bitch!!! What'd you do to him?!!!!!"  
"Well why don't you hang around for a while and I'll tell you," Tea said as she cast out her hands. The ceiling opened up and chains came out, wrapping around Melika's hands, arms, and waist. She was raised up right above Marik.  
"Melika!!!!!!!!!" Marik cried. He turned to Tea in frustration. "Let her go!!!!! Or I'll."  
"Or you'll what?" she asked. "You can't control my mind because you don't have this," she said holding up the Millennium Rod.  
Marik gritted his teeth. He charged.  
"I'd stay there if I were you" Tea warned as she cast her hand out making Marik freeze in his tracks. "Now back to her," she said, turning to Melika. "What are you doing to me?"  
"What am I doing?" Tea asked as she stepped down the steps. "It's quit simple really. I want Marik for myself. He has a powerful Millennium Item and I want it but the thing is, is that he's the only 1 that knows how to use it. Besides the fact that he has the Millennium Rod, me and him were made for each other."  
Melika narrowed her eyes in frustration and anger. "So that's why you kidnapped him?" she asked coldly. "Then why'd you send his soul to the shadow realm?"  
Tea glared at her. "Well he wouldn't have come quietly so I had to send his soul to the Shadow Realm. But I had a plan along with that."  
"That's high standards from you Tea."  
Tea looked fierce. She raised her hands again and closed them into fists, making the chains around Melika tighten. Melika winced in pain but didn't cry out.  
"You want to try that again Melika?"  
Melika glared back at Tea. "And what was your plan to go along with that?"  
"I'm glad that you asked. I knew that you would have gone to the Shadow Realm to search for his soul. See, I have the power to send people to the Shadow Realm but I can't bring them back from it. So if you had got his soul then you could revive him for me and then I could use you to bribe him to show me how to use it. Pretty good plan huh?"  
Melika didn't' respond and surprisingly, neither did Marik. All this time, he had been taking all this in. He'd been thinking this whole time.  
"Melika!" Marik said.  
Melika looked his way.  
"I know you may not want to do this but his is our only chance of escaping."  
Melika looked interested.  
"What you have to do is look into her soul and then switch with each other."  
Melika lost her interest right away. "You want me to switch bodies with the bitch?! Are you crazy?!"  
"I know but it's the only thing we can do."  
Melika hesitated for a while then finally said, "Alright. But I won't like it."  
Tea just frowned. "Nice try but it won't work."  
Melika closed her eyes and concentrated. She was in Tea and when she opened her eyes, she saw herself in the chains hanging from the ceiling. Melika looked disgusted. "EEWWWW!!!!" she said as she sniffed the air around her. "When was the last time you bathed Tea?"  
"Shut up and get me out of here!!!!?" ordered Tea.  
"Fine," Melika said as she stepped toward Marik and gave him his Millennium Item. "Lower yourself down and I'll switch us back."  
Tea lowered Melika's body down and let the chains let go of her. Melika switched back into her own body and Tea back to her own.  
"You fool!!!!" Tea said. "Now that I'm back in my body, I can send you both to the Shadow Realm!!!!"  
"Not if I can help it!" said Melika. Using her Millennium Pendant, she sent Tea to the Shadow realm. "That should be the end for her," said Melika. She walked towards Marik and hugged him.  
"Melika, I'm glad you're safe and thank you for rescuing me," Marik said as he kissed her forehead then her lips. They smiled at each other.  
"Your welcome," she said and hugged him again. "So. What do you think we should do with Tea's body?"  
Marik thought for a while. "I think we should send her body to another Realm. You can pick," he said.  
Melika smiled. "Great idea. How about the Realm of the Dead?"  
"Perfect."  
Melika's Millennium Item glowed and Tea's body was gone in a matter of seconds.  
"There, she's gone," she said. "Let's go to the Pharaoh and Queen."  
Marik smiled and nodded with agreement. With 1 last kiss, they left the Pharaoh's tomb and went to tell the good news.  
  
"It's a miracle!!!!!" Queen Yula exclaimed. "Yes, it truly is," said Pharaoh Yami. "It's about time she's gone," P. Seto agreed. They were all in the throne room of the palace. It was decorated with rich fabrics and pictures of ancient duel monsters. "Tea may be stupid," said Melika, "but if her body's still intact after the travel to the realm I sent her, she may be able to use her powers to get her soul back and return." "Like that'll ever happen," said P. Seto. "Like I said, she may be stupid but she has powers," said Melika firmly. "We will take your cautions seriously," said Yami. "But for now, we shall feast!!!!!!!" "Heer heer!!" The servants began to prepare the food for the feast. Platters where laid on the table in the banquet hall. Rich fruit, meats, and desserts where spread across the table delicately. That night, everybody was at the table, getting ready for feast. Mai, Joey, Serenity, Bakura, Mokuba, Lulu, Marik, Melika, Draga, P. Seto, Pharaoh Yami, and Queen Yula all sat around the table (with Yula and Yami being at the head of course). Once everybody sat down, they began to feast. Later on during the feast, the Pharaoh stood up and everybody quieted. Clearing his voice, he said, "This feast is in honor of Melika for she has ridden this world of Tea by sending her to the Realm of the Dead and her soul to the Shadow Realm." Raising his cup he said, "To Melika!" "To Melika!" everybody chorused and sipped their drinks. (Of course, Joey seemed to be cheering more to the feast than to Melika.) Melika smiled and blushed a little. Marik noticed and said, "You deserved that toast and besides, what he said is true. There's nothing to be embarrassed about." Marik smiled which made Melika smile. He's right, she thought to herself, I have nothing to be embarrassed about. With that, she feasted.  
  
It was a bright and sunny day. The sun shone through the window and on her face. Melika opened her eyes to the sun a few days after the feast. She got out of bed and put her feet against the cold stone floor. Going to her chest, she pulled out a dress for the morning. It was a short purple tunic with short sleeves. She put on a gold bangle bracelet on her wrist and tied up the laces to her sandals. Walking out of her bedroom, she went down to the training field.  
Grabbing a sword from the rack, she began to swing it around. She held on firmly to her sword as she did spirals and cut her sword through the air. She swiped and was stopped by another blade. It was Yula. She wore a dark red tunic with a black belt. She had on a pair of black sandals and bracelets on her wrists. Her sword was a long silver blade with designs on the hilt. On the blade was a spell on the sword for protection, speed, and strength.  
"Need a partner?" the queen asked.  
Melika smiled. She pulled her blade away and charged. Yula blocked and swung. Melika sucked her belly in and swiped her sword at Yula who blocked, as always. Damn, said Melika, I can never touch her with my sword. Yula was the best with a blade but Melika was always better with a bow and arrow. Yula swiped, giving Melika a slight cut. Yula smiled.  
"I thought you could do better than this," she taunted.  
Melika smiled and charged again, just nicking the queen a little bit, just enough for a little blood. She stepped away and Yula charged with a little bit more force. Melika spun around in a circle to give her more strength in her block. She struggled a little. I forgot how strong she was, thought Melika. Sliding her blade away, Melika dropped to the ground and tumbled, quickly getting up.  
"New trick I see," said Yula.  
Melika nodded. "Here's another," she said. She charged and pretended to go to the left. Yula prepared to block on her left side but Melika quickly went to her right. Putting her blade just above the hilt line, she pulled back making Yula let go. It spun in the air for a split second and Melika caught it. Putting her own blade to the queen's throat so the blade almost touched the skin.  
Yula smiled. "Not bad, you're gonna have to teach me that."  
Melika smiled and pulled her blade away. "I would be able to do that trick a lot better with my own sword, it's much lighter," said Melika.  
The queen smiled. "If you can do that trick that well with 1 of the practice swords then imagine what you can do with your own blade."  
"Yeah you're right. Do want to go in and get some breakfast?"  
"Sure and then we can go to the target range with the other girls."  
"Okay."  
Melika put her sword back on the rack and walked into the palace with the queen.  
After breakfast, Yula and Melika walked down to the shooting range and meet Mai, Serenity, Lulu, and Draga. Yula and Melika had brought their own bows and so did every body else. Yula had a long bow, which curved at the top and bottom. It was black, the queen's favorite color, with intricate designs carved in red. Her arrows were long and had black and red feathers. Melika's bow was also a long bow but it was a little bit smaller than Yula's. It was carved with silver Egyptian symbols and had curves at the bottom and top like the queen's. Melika's arrows were silver with midnight blue feathers to match the color of her bow.  
Everybody else's looked the same: short with designs of some sort carved into them with arrows to match their bows; the bows were their favorite colors.  
They shot their bows for about an hour or so and getting better with each time they practiced. Since Melika was 1 of the best archers of the land of Egypt, she taught anybody who wanted to learn how to shoot.  
"I think I'm getting better," said Lulu tucking her black hair behind her ear as they walked back up to the palace. She wore a dark blue dress (very close to black) and black sandals.  
"I think you are too," said Melika. She smiled.  
"I'm still having some trouble. Maybe it's not my thing," said Serenity. She wore a pale yellow dress and a pair of brown sandals.  
"You're doing fine Serenity, don't worry. Do you think we should teach the boys how to shoot?" said Draga. She wore a very dark green tunic with dark brown sandals and a dark brown wrist strap.  
"I don't know but I think that Joey may need some lessons. Although he is taking hand-to-hand combat lessons with Tristan," said Mai. She wore a purple tunic and light brown sandals.  
"Well I'm sure Queen Yula could teach the boys swordsmanship. What do you think?" asked Melika, looking at her queen.  
"I could, but I don't think they need any training," replied the queen. "Hey, how 'bout we clean up and we can go to the market."  
"Okay," they all said.  
  
"What do you think of this?" asked the queen. She held up a red dress with a black sash and cape. The cape was held to the dress with 2 pins that looked like the Millennium Eye.  
"I don't know," said Draga. "I think the dress you're wearing now is a whole lot better." Yula looked at herself. She wore a short-sleeved black dress that went off the shoulder. Over that was a red tunic and a black belt.  
"I guess," Yula said as she put back the dress.  
Draga picked up another dress. "What do you think of this Yula?" It was a long sleeved black dress with belled sleeves. It was long and it flowed when you moved. Over that was a sheer red dress just like it so that you could just see the black.  
"I really like that Draga," said Yula and she took it from her. "Do you think we could find a necklace or something to match?"  
Draga nodded and picked out a simple black choker made of a soft fabric. The queen bought it and put it in her basket.  
"I think you should find something like the outfit you have on Draga," said Serenity. She wore a dark pink dress (it almost looked like red) with short sleeves and gold bangle bracelets.  
Serenity's right, thought Draga. Her long sleeved, blood red dress was 1 of her favorites.  
"Then I think I may have found the dress for you," said Melika. She pulled Draga over to the stand she was looking at and pointed out the dress she had found.  
Draga held it up and smiled. It was a bright red dress with no sleeves. The dress was connected to a gold choker that went to the tips of her shoulders to the middle of her neck. Around the waist was a simple gold cord.  
"I like it. Thanks for picking it out," said Draga. Melika smiled.  
"Glad I could help," she said.  
Yula walked over to a stand and smiled broadly. "Hey Melika," she said. Melika walked over to her. "What do you think of this dress?" she asked. She held up a strapless white dress with a gold sash that hung a little off the waist. It was tied together was a pin with the Millennium Eye.  
Melika took it eagerly from the queen's hands. She loved it a lot. And it looked a lot better compared to the light blue dress she was wearing. "Thanks Yula but I still think its missing 1 thing," said Melika. She walked over and picked out a golden bracelet and armband. "Now it's perfect," Melika declared. Yula smiled.  
By the end of the day, everybody had bought something: Mai bought a light purple dress with sleeves that hugged her shoulders and a pair of gold bracelets, Serenity bought a long sleeved baby blue dress with a silver choker to match, and Lulu bought a dress like her sister's except it was a little different- she picked out a red dress that had short sleeves with a dark gold, sheer dress with long bell sleeves that went to the tips of her fingers; a black choker went with it.  
  
Melika looked up into the sky. It was a starless night but a warm breeze blew against her face. She closed her eyes and breathed in the smell of Egypt. "I'd enjoy this better if Marik was out here, but he's probably doing something else."  
"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but here."  
Melika turned her head to see Marik. He wore a dark purple skirt that went to his knees with a gold bangle bracelet on each wrist and a bangle necklace. She smiled when she saw him. He had always made her happy.  
Marik walked over to Melika and kissed her lightly. He held her hand in his, lacing his finger with hers. He looked up and closed his eyes.  
He's so peaceful, Melika said as she smiled.  
"So," she said and Marik turned looked at her out of the corners of his eyes. "What did you do today?" Melika asked.  
Marik looked out to Egypt again. "Nothing really," he said. "I just laid around the palace and maybe practiced fighting with P. Seto and Pharaoh Yami."  
"That's cool," said Melika. "Do you want to go riding tomorrow?"  
Marik smiled. They both loved to ride horses. "Sure," he said.  
Melika kissed him on the lips. I truly love him, she thought to herself. They smiled at each other and walked into the palace.  
  
Yula sat on the balcony with a book in her hand. She wore a simple red dress with a black belt. She was bored and there was nothing to do. Everybody was gone. Except for.  
"What's wrong Yula?" Yami asked. He wore a black skirt with a gold bangle bracelet and armband. He also wore a bangle necklace.  
The queen turned her head to her husband and heaved a deep sigh. He walked over and sat next to her, placing her hand in his.  
"I'm just so bored," she began. "Everybody's gone- even Lulu and Mokuba. Mai and Joey went to see Serenity and Bakura and then they all went to visit some people, Lulu and Mokuba went with Draga and P. Seto to visit Draga's parents, and Melika and Marik went riding across the desert somewhere. We're the only people left and I'm just so bored."  
Yami smiled. "What? Do I bore you that easily?" he teased.  
"No that's not what I meant," Yula said.  
"Sure sounded like it."  
"Well I didn't mean it like that."  
"I feel so unwanted now."  
"Yami that's not true! You're plenty of fun to be with!"  
"That's not what you said."  
"But that's what I meant!!"  
"Sure it is," he said in a sarcastic tone.  
"Shutup!!" Yula said, standing up.  
"Make me," Yami taunted as he sprinted into the palace.  
"YAMI!!!!!" Yula yelled after him as she ran through the hallway looking for him. She saw him as he ran into their bedroom. "No where to run now," she said smiling. She ran in and shut the door behind her.  
  
She was in the Shadow Realm with all of her friends- but none of them were male. They ran and ran and ran until they saw them. Hanging were Yami, Bakura, P. Seto, Joey, Mokuba, and Marik. Blocking Melika, Yula, Serenity, Draga, Mai, and Lulu was an army. They fought and fought until the army was beaten. However, another person-or thing- was blocking their way. It was female and she laughed a high-pitched laugh that pierced Melika's ears and everybody else's. The person stopped and created a sword out of thin air. She fought Yula and Melika but her face was still hidden in shadow. Mai, Serenity, Lulu, and Draga went to free the men when they were taken by guards. They struggled but they were knocked out. Melika and Yula's swords were about 3 ft away from them and the shadowed person was about to swing, to produce the final blow, to rid them from the world, when.  
Melika sat straight up in her bed. She panted hard. What was that all about? She thought to herself. She felt a burning on her neck and looked down. Her Millennium Pendant was burning against her neck. "That can't be good," she said to herself.  
There was a knock on her door and Marik, Lulu, Draga, P. Seto, Mokuba, Yula, and Yami walked in. Marik was the 1st to reach Melika. "Are you alright?" he asked her, placing a hand on her shoulder.  
"I'm fine," she said, a little puzzled. "What made you guys come in here?"  
"You screamed Melika," said Yula. Everybody nodded in agreement. "I don't know why you screamed, but, are you okay?"  
Melika hesitated then shook her head. "I had a dream- or a nightmare- or a vision or something. I don't know but it seemed so real."  
"Here," Yula said as she held her Millennium Key against her forehead, "let me look into your head. Maybe I can figure some of it out." Yula turned the Key and she was in Melika's head. She saw the dream flash in front of her. She knew what it was.  
"It's a vision," she declared. "Your Millennium Pendant allows you to look into people's souls and to send them to another realm. I believe that the power of your Millennium Item is growing."  
"Into what?" Melika asked.  
"I think it's letting you have the ability to travel in time to the past or future and into other dimensions. But that is just what I'm guessing."  
Melika took all this in. "Thanks Yula. for telling me this. I think your guess is correct and that the powers of my Millennium Pendant are growing." She paused, then added, "Then what I saw was a vision of the future. We all must be wary. Yula, you saw what I saw and you know why I say this."  
Yula nodded. She knew that all the people that Melika loved and knew were in danger. They must be careful.  
"I suggest you all be wary and cautious when outside the palace, especially when you're alone. Let's all go back to bed and we will discuss it in the morning- if that's all right with you Melika," Yula said.  
Melika nodded.  
Everybody went back to their bedchambers except for Marik.  
He leaned in and kissed Melika. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked with concern.  
Melika nodded. He seems so worried, she thought to herself. "I'm just a little bit concerned with my vision but it's nothing really."  
"Are you sure?"  
Melika smiled and kissed him. "Yes, I am. I'll talk to you in the morning."  
Marik stood up and gave Melika 1 last kiss. "Good night."  
"Good night."  
Marik walked out the door and headed back to his bedchamber. She says it's all fine, he thought, and she says she's fine but there's just something that doesn't feel right. I guess it'll be explained tomorrow. With that last thought, he shut the door to his room.  
  
They all sat in the throne room. They were all dressed in simple clothing for the day ahead since they weren't going to anything important.  
"Now Melika," said Yami, "tell us what you saw last night please."  
Melika nodded and began to tell her vision. Everyone was quiet and Marik sat there with concern on his face.  
"Since it seems this is what's going to happen in the future," said Yami, "we all need to be extra cautious. Melika, do you know when this is going to happen?"  
Melika shook her head. "I can try and see when this happens but it may take a while."  
"Please try your best Melika," said Yula. Melika nodded her head and concentrated. Her Pendant glowed and she traveled into the future. One day, no this wasn't it, she thought. Three days, no not yet. Six days, still not the day she had seen in her dream. She traveled and traveled until she got to the 14th day. Yes, she thought, this is the day. "Melika. Melika. Melika!" Marik repeated. She lay limply in his arms, her head against his chest. She opened her eyes slightly and saw that everybody was crowded around her, all with anxious and worried faces. "Did you find out anything?" asked Yami. Melika nodded her head. "Two." she said. Everybody looked at each other. Two what? They all thought together. "Two what?" said Draga aloud. "Two." said Melika. That was all she could get out before she passed out.  
  
Melika and Yula's swords were about 3 ft away from them and the shadowed person was about to swing, to produce the final blow, to rid them from the world, when Draga attacked the shadowed figure. Yula and Melika tumbled across the ground and grabbed their swords. Getting up they charged but they were stopped and raised up by the shadowed figure. Draga was grabbed off of the person's back by a guard. The shadowed person threw Yula against a wall in the Shadow Realm and she was knocked out with blood coming out of a gash on her head. Melika struggled against the force holding her up. She was gonna kill the person who had hurt Yula and her friends. She was slammed against the wall where the guys were hanging from. Each guy had a guard in front of them with a knife up to their throats. Melika was about to get up and charge but she was held down by a force so strong, that she heard her shoulders crack. The shadowed figure went up to Marik and put a blade to his throat.  
"Now that I know how to use his Millennium Item, I can dispose of him and all of the rest of the men. I have no need to waist my blade on you and your friends because you will die of heartache!! Say goodbye to your loved ones!!!!!!!!" said the shadowed figure. With that, she and all the guards pulled their blades, slicing.  
"MAAARIIKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Melika cried as she shot upright in her bed. Yula came over and sat on her bed, holding her hand. Melika pulled away and got up. "Where's Marik?!" she exclaimed looking around the room frantically.  
"Calm down Melika," said Yula.  
"Where's Marik!!?" repeated Melika  
"He's not here," said Yula.  
Melika looked angry. "Why isn't he here!?"  
Yula stared behind her and Melika followed her gaze to the rest of her friends sitting in chairs or standing against her wall- all except for Marik, P. Seto, and the Pharaoh. They nodded their heads in a silent agreement.  
"Where are Marik, P. Seto, and Yami? Where'd they go?" Melika asked.  
"You screamed during your sleep," Yula began, "and we all came rushing in here. You were burning up with a high fever and you were on the verge of death. Marik went straight to find a doctor and P. Seto and Yami went with him for safety measures."  
Melika stood there and collapsed on the floor, shoving her face into her hands and sobbing uncontrollably. Yula got down on the floor and put her arm around her shoulders.  
Why did he go? Melika ask herself. Why, why, why?  
"What's wrong Melika?" asked Draga.  
"They're all gonna die," said Melika between sobs. "All of them- DEAD!!! They're all gonna die!!"  
Yula looked concerned and was almost afraid to ask, "What are you talking about?"  
Melika looked up, her cheeks covered with tears. Melika leaned her head against the queen's chest. "Oh Yula," she whispered so quietly that Yula had to lean in to hear her. "They're all going to be killed," she continued. "All of them."  
"Who will be killed?" they all asked.  
"Marik, P. Seto, Joey, Bakura, Mokuba, and." Melika looked up at Yula and Yula looked scared when she saw the sadness in Melika's eyes. "Yami will be killed too Yula. All of our loved ones. They're going to be killed by the person I saw in my vision."  
Yula looked Melika square in the face. "Are you sure of what you saw?" she asked her.  
Melika nodded.  
"When is this all going to happen?" Draga asked.  
"In 2 weeks. We only have 2 weeks left to protect our loved ones."  
  
A few minutes later, Marik, Yami, P. Seto, and a doctor walked in. Marik saw Melika's tear stained face and walked over to her. "What's wrong?" he asked. Yula stepped away from Melika to let Marik hug her. Instead of watching Marik, she walked over to Yami and hugged him tightly. He hugged her back a little awkwardly and he began to whisper in her ear. She whispered back. Draga embraced P. Seto lovingly and he began to soothe her as she started to sob into his shoulder.  
All this time, Melika was silent, making Marik ask again, "What's wrong?" He lifted Melika up and placed her on the bed. Sitting beside her, he put his arm lovingly around her. Everybody sat down either on the bed or on a chair.  
Melika, still silent, looked up. All of her loved ones were in front of her. Everybody waited for Melika to tell them what had happened. She began to tell them what she'd seen reluctantly. She didn't want to relive the terror of loosing her loved ones again.  
When she was done, everybody stood there shocked. P. Seto got up. "There's no way this could happen!" he said. "I don't believe these visions."  
"P. Seto!" said Draga. "Don't say that!!"  
"I can if I want to. She has no proof that these visions are going to happen which means we have nothing to worry about. We're getting all sensitive over something that probably won't even happen!!!"  
Marik stood up with a jolt. "Are you calling Melika liar?! Why would she lie about something like this? In case you don't remember, in her vision, she said that I was going to be killed too!!! Why would she lie about the deaths of the people she loved!!!?"  
"Well, Marik, she has no proof and besides it can just be a nightmare!!!! Her greatest fear is of loosing her loved ones and that's what she must've dreamt!!! We have no proof that it's a vision!!!"  
Draga placed a hand on P. Seto's shoulder but he brushed it off briskly. Yula stood up as well.  
"P. Seto! You're acting way out of control!! Stop it!" she said.  
"Be quiet Yula!!! I don't need another person on my back!!!"  
Now Yami was up next to Yula. "She's right P. Seto," he said, "you're way out of line!!"  
P. Seto turned his head back to Marik.  
"The only reason why you believe these visions is because the person you love the most is having them!!" said P. Seto.  
"That's not true!!!!!" countered Marik. "I would believe them if anybody else had them. And the only reason why you don't believe them is because you're just afraid. Afraid of losing your own life, the life of Draga, the person who you love the most, and all you friends and family of whom you love!!!!!"  
"You have no proof of that!!!"  
"He's right you know P. Seto," said Melika. Everybody quieted. "Excuse me?" asked P. Seto warningly.  
"Marik's right," repeated Melika. "Remember I can look into your soul and your soul says that you're just afraid of losing everything."  
Everybody was even quieter and P. Seto looked shocked and angered at the same time.  
"You're a bitch," he muttered under his breath and stormed out of the room.  
"He doesn't mean that," said Draga, as Marik was about to pursue and kill him.  
"Yes, he does," said Melika, looking down. "His fear is just clouding his mind."  
  
It was 1 week later since she had seen her last vision. She lay out on a mound in the warm sun. She wore a light tunic the color of the clouds. She looked next to her. There lay Marik. He slept in the sun as if nothing was wrong. Everybody was still recovering from the shock of the last vision but daily life resumed except for the fact of whenever Marik and P. Seto saw each other they looked as if they were about to knock each other's brains out.  
"Do you want to head back?" asked Marik, his eyes still closed.  
"Sure," she said, "we might as well."  
They got up and started to walk back to the palace.  
To think that they only had 1 more week with each other frightened Melika but she had an idea. And she needed all the girls to do it.  
  
"You want us to train everyday?" asked Mai as she paced across Melika's bedroom.  
"Yes," Melika said. "If we know how to defend ourselves then we can defend the people we love. Unless you have a better idea?"  
"Well, can't we just duel in the Shadow Realm?" asked Mai. Melika shook her head.  
"We can only duel when we are challenged and besides, not all of us have a dueling deck," said Melika. "I think Melika's right," said Serenity. "We should know how to defend ourselves and besides, we're as strong as any warrior or man that we know of. I'm with you Melika."  
"Me too," said Draga. "Us too," said Lulu and Yula.  
"Well Mai?" asked Yula.  
"I don't want to lose Joey so I'm in too," she said.  
"Alright then," said Melika. "Meet me and Yula tomorrow at the practice ring. The 1st thing we need to do is build up our strength and learn how to do hand to hand combat."  
  
They met early that morning in the practice field. Yula and Melika were dressed in the soldiers' training uniforms: cream breeches with dark red tunics and knee high brown boots and brown belts. Of course, Yula, not touching the colors cream or white, had on black breeches instead. Draga, Mai, Serenity, and Lulu walked up only a few minutes after Melika and the queen had come.  
Melika tossed each of them a uniform. "Put these on. They're a lot easier to train in than dresses."  
Quickly, Draga, Lulu, Serenity, and Mai slipped on the uniforms. Once they had changed, Melika took a roll of torn up cloth and began to wrap the cloth around each of the girls' hands. "These will help protect your hands," said Melika. Melika gave Yula a 2 pieces of cloth and began to wrap them around her hands.  
"The first thing we need to do is do basic drills," Melika said. They did drills for about an hour and then stopped.  
"Now me and Yula are going to show you how to do hand to hand combat," said Melika.  
They moved to the ring and got in a fighting stance. "Now Yula, I want you to hit me in all the ways you know and I will block them okay?" Yula nodded her hand. "Please watch closely because some of these blocks you will need to use to defend your self against your opponent."  
Yula did a few kicks, punches, jabs, and defensive moves. Melika showed them how to do each block. After a few more demonstrations, Melika asked each person to pair up and practice on each other but to not hit each other. "The only time you hit a person in training is when we're more ready so don't touch a single piece of your teammates body."  
After a good hour or so of hand-to-hand combat, they moved on to swordsmanship.  
"We will be using wooden swords for practice. They are the weight and length of the sword you will probably be using," said Yula as Melika handed out the swords.  
Yula demonstrated the blocks to use against an opponents attack, the counter attacks, and regular attacks. She demonstrated these for a while until they had all of them memorized. She also taught them how to attack or block somebody while moving on a horse or camel. After that, she instructed them to practice on each other. About an hour and a half or so, they went to the archery range.  
"Can we take a break?" Mai asked, wiping her hand against her forehead to stop the sweat from getting into her eyes.  
"Yeah please sis?" pleaded Lulu. "We deserve a break."  
Melika and Yula looked at each other. "Alright," said Yula. "We'll take a half hour break. You'll need your strength to pull back the bows anyways."  
Draga, Serenity, Lulu, and Mai smiled and headed off to the palace for a drink. Melika and Yula sat down.  
Lying back, Melika asked, "Yula?" Yula turned to face her.  
"Yes."  
"Do you think we're doing the right thing? Training them?"  
Yula smiled. "You bet I do. You're right. We should learn how to defend ourselves."  
Melika smiled back at Yula. "Thanks."  
After the break they continued practice. Melika showed them how to arm their bow in a matter of seconds, how to shoot a moving target, how to shoot a long-range target, and how to shoot a target while moving. True, some of them weren't the greatest when it came to moving targets but they were improving. They practiced that for about an hour to 2 hours and then put everything away. Muscles sore, they walked up to the palace to go to sleep. They had practiced until dusk and they were going to start again tomorrow at dawn. Mai and Serenity stayed at the palace that night and they'd be staying there until the night they were done training.  
I hope I'm doing the right thing, thought Melika. However, deep down, she knew she was.  
  
The days went by fast with training. Everybody was improving in everything. And as each day went by, the girls became stronger and stronger. They began to use real swords and start to ride Arabian horses for training with swordsmanship and archery.  
On the 13th day, they trained extra hard. They knew the time would come when they would have to put their skills to the test.  
  
On the 14th day, the palace was silent. A little too silent, thought Melika.  
During breakfast, Draga came running down the hallway. "It's started!!!" she exclaimed. The girls looked at each other and Yula got up to comfort her friend.  
"What's started?" she asked Draga firmly.  
"Mokuba and P. Seto are gone!!! The men are starting to go!!"  
Yula turned to Melika. "Search Egypt for Bakura and Joey!" she demanded.  
Melika nodded and concentrated. After a few seconds Melika spoke. "Gone. They're in the Shadow Realm."  
"Then that leaves Yami and Marik," said Yula. She looked to Yami but he was gone. "Where'd he go?" Yula asked frantically. But she already knew the answer.  
Melika stood up and began to run. The girls followed. "Marik's next!" Melika called back to them. She thrust the door to Marik's room open. He was gone.  
All the girls peered in. They knew what they had to do know. "Get ready to fight girls," said Melika. They quickly ran to the weapon's room. Melika pulled out some fighting clothes. They slipped them on. Each pair of clothes came with weapons that matched the person's strength. Mai's outfit was a purple tunic and a brown belt with a hilt and sword attached to it. Serenity put on a dark pink tunic. Attached to her brown belt were a pair of fighting gloves and a small sword. Draga wore a blood red tunic. Attached to her belt was a sword and across her back were her bow and her set of arrows. Lulu wore a dark blue tunic. On her belt were a pair of fighting gloves and on her back were her bow and arrows. Yula wore a red tunic. On her black belt were her sword and fighting gloves and on her back were he long bow and black arrows. Finally, Melika slipped on a purple tunic. On her black belt were her sword and fighting gloves and on her back were her bow and quiver of arrows. They all slipped on sandals and wrapped their hands in the cloths they had used for training. They were all set and ready to fight the shadowed figure.  
  
They all landed on the ground in the Shadow Realm.  
"So what do we do now?" asked Serenity.  
"I'll look for their souls and we can start to head to where I can find them," said Melika.  
Closing her eyes, she focused on Marik and all the other people she loved. Yes! She had found their souls.  
"Found 'em!" she rejoiced. The girls smiled and began to follow Melika as she ran to where she had gotten the signals from the guys' souls.  
  
As they got closer to them, the girls fought more and more souls and guards. They're training really had paid off because nothing could lay a finger on them.  
A few minutes after their last battle, they saw them- P. Seto, Yami, Mokuba, Bakura, Joey, and Marik- all hanging, just as in Melika's vision. Guards were guarding them and the girls charged. They swiped and sliced, they punched and kicked, and they drew and shot as they took down each guard. When all of the guards were killed, they saw another person blocking their way, a woman, the same woman that Melika saw. She wore a pink dress that flowed and a yellow attachment that made her dress stay up. The woman laughed a high-pitched laugh. "You guys go free the men. Me and Yula will take care of her," said Melika as she and the queen of Egypt drew their swords. The girls nodded and headed toward the men. The shadowed figure created a blade out of thin air and she fought Yula and Melika. As soon as Draga, Mai, Serenity, and Lulu reached the men, guards seized them. Using the skills they had required in training, they flipped the guards over their heads and wrestled them to the floor. However that wasn't enough and the girls were punched in the heads by the guards. Meanwhile, Yula and Melika fought the mysterious women. They were fought to the ground and their swords were knocked out of their hands. Melika and Yula's swords were about 3 ft away from them and the shadowed person was about to swing, to produce the final blow, to rid them from the world.  
"Who are you?" Melika asked.  
"Who do you think?" said the woman.  
"Wait a minute!" said Melika. "I know that cheesy line anywhere. Show your face. Tea!!!!!"  
Indeed it was Tea. Yes, she had used that cheesy line before and she obviously thought that it never got old.  
"Any last words?" she asked.  
"Yeah," said Yula, "could you please wait while we get our swords?"  
"Oh. Yeah. Sure," said Tea. "Hey wait!!"  
But it was too late. Melika and Yula rolled across the ground and grabbed their swords. Quickly getting up, they charged. But before they could attack, they were lifted up.  
"My vision's changing a little Yula," said Melika.  
Tea threw Yula against the wall of the Shadow Realm and she was knocked out with blood coming out of a gash on her head. Tea laughed. Just then, Draga sprinted out of nowhere and jumped on Tea's back.  
"Nobody hurts my friends!" she said as she slammed her fists against Tea's head. A guard grabbed her off of Tea's back.  
Melika was thrown against the wall where the guys hung. Each guy had a guard in front of them with a knife up to their throats. Melika was about to get up and charge but she was held down by a force so strong, that she heard her shoulders crack. Tea went up to Marik and put a blade to his throat.  
"Now that I know how to use his Millennium Item, I can dispose of him and all of the rest of the men. I have no need to waist my blade on you and your friends because you will die of heartache!! Say goodbye to your loved ones!!!!!!!!" said Tea.  
"Not if I can help it!!!!" screamed Melika. "Why did you capture them anyways?"  
"Since I can't have any of the men than nobody can! Especially you!"  
"Well you're not going to succeed!!!!" Melika was almost to tears.  
"Oh really?" Tea taunted. "Well, who's going to stop me?"  
"I will," said a voice. It was Yula. She had gotten up and was about to charge.  
Tea snickered. "Like you can possibly stop me!"  
Yula tossed a sword to Melika who grabbed it and stood up. "Maybe not me alone but we will stop you together." Yula and Melika charged at Tea and as the swept their blades together, they cut off Tea's head. The guards vanished, being only mere illusions created by Tea, the men dropped to the floor, their bindings being released from Tea's spell.  
By now, Draga, Mai, Lulu, and Serenity had gained consciousness again. The went to they guys and raised them up. They were all relieved when they woke up that they kissed and hugged them. Marik hugged Melika tightly and kissed her. He was so happy to see her.  
"I think you owe Melika an apology P. Seto," said Marik.  
P. Seto looked hard at Marik. He never liked to apologize to anybody.  
"Marik's right," said Yami. "You owe her an apology. If it wasn't for her then you wouldn't be alive right now."  
P. Seto knew that the pharaoh was right and he had to obey. "Sorry Melika," he mumbled. Melika smiled.  
"C'mon," said Yula, "let's go home."  
  
It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining on the palace and on the wedding ceremony that was taking place. All the girls were in the dresses that they bought at the market. The boys wore skirts and sandals and Yami wore his royal garments. Marik was in an off white skirt and brown sandals. He wore a bangle necklace and bracelets. In front of him stood Melika. She was wearing the white dress that Yula had picked out for her. Weaved into her hair was the headband she had worn before and her hair was laid on her shoulder, the end tied with a piece of gold leather.  
At the end of the readings, Melika and Marik kissed passionately. They all walked into the palace and enjoyed the giant feast. (Again, Joey seemed to be enjoying the feast more than the wedding.) They all stayed up way past dawn and soon they all crept into bed. Melika and Marik were the only people still awake.  
Melika nuzzled against Marik on the couch. She was tired from the day's events. It had been a few months since she and Yula had defeated Tea.  
  
"C'mon," said Marik, "let's go to bed." Marik lifted his bride into his arms and carried her to their room. When they got there, he set Melika down and she walked into the room; she sat on the bed. Marik soon walked in after her and shut the door behind their old life and began their new life together.  
  
THE END 


End file.
